Homeless
by Malicious Malfoy
Summary: Gretchen is homeless girl who finds herself all alone on the streets...who will be there to help her?


Homeless  
  
A.N: This is a little story I wrote for English a couple of years ago and I have decided to post it here because I thought it was good. So yeah read it and post a review and any thoughts you have on it.I am very open-minded. But no flames please.there is only so much my heart can take.  
  
Summary: Gretchen is a homeless girl who finds her self all alone on the streets.who will be there to help her?  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Angel.I am just borrowing them to fulfil my ultimate scheme.MWAHAHAHA!!!!!!!  
  
  
  
She walked the streets. Alone. No one but Chester, a little stray kitten, for company. She carefully picked up her bag, for it was all she had, and prepared herself for the utter mockery of the faces, full of pity, that would be thrown at her.  
  
Gretchen walked out of the alleyway, where she had spent the previous night. It was not as comfortable as the hostels she usually stayed in, but at least she didn't have to look at the faces of the hostel workers. She knew exactly what they were thinking.  
  
"Poor Gretchen. So young and already homeless."  
  
Yeah, well, last night she couldn't afford the money for her 'sunshine', so she didn't feel like ignoring the pity in the room. She walked slowly down the street, trying to find a good place to set up for the day.  
  
Everyday Gretchen would set up a place on the street and beg for money. she used this money to buy her weekly 'sunshine' and sometimes some food to last her a while. The city could be a very dark place, if you didn't have your 'sunshine'.  
  
Usually she could get enough cash, but last week people hadn't been so gracious. They walked past her like she was scum. A lowly rat. Well, damn them. See how they feel when she plays the misery card. They would probably just ignore her anyway.  
  
She found the perfect place. She set down her stuff and prepared herself for the tough day ahead.  
  
It was a slow day. Most people ignored her, some only gave measly pennies and quarters. It was just like when she had just started. She could remember it like it was yesterday.  
  
  
  
She was young, only about ten. She had just run away from home, mostly an abusive mother and alcoholic father. A deadly duet. Well, for her anyway. She was in Los Angeles. The city of Angels. But there was no angel for her. People didn't care for her there. Mostly they ignored her; if they didn't 'see' you they wouldn't feel guilty.  
  
Well, two could play at that game, she thought.  
  
"Excuse me, sir, do you have money for a lost soul?"  
  
There see how you handle that, she thought.  
  
"Please, sir. A dollar for a hungry person?"  
  
the man turned around to look at her. Really look at her. It was as if he was looking into her soul. At this sudden lapse, Gretchen put her mask back up and looked the man right into his soulful brown eyes.  
  
"Please, sir, something?"  
  
She looked at him, closely. He looked like a man with a lot of pain. Just like her. He had brown hair and brown eyes that seared through your skin to look right down deep into your soul. And his clothes were to die for. If Gretchen had clothes like that, long black leather jacket and leather pants, she could probably get more money.  
  
She snapped out of her reverie, to realize that he was still staring at her.  
  
He began to walk closer to her, grabbed her hand and slipped a card into it. He began to walk away.  
  
"Wait, I don't even know your name!" she had shouted.  
  
"Angel," was all he said as he had disappeared into the crowd. Gretchen flipped the card and looked at what it said:  
  
Angel Investigations "We Help the Helpless" 331 Maine Street Los Angeles 912 9634  
  
But how could they help her? If only they had known what she had been through.  
  
Gretchen decided that maybe it was a good idea to ask for their help. Maybe they would be able to help her with the things that had been masquerading around as her parents.  
  
The next morning, Gretchen awoke early to start heading off to her destination. If she didn't she was sure she would never make it there before dark and the city wasn't a very safe place to be at night. You never knew what was lurking in the dark corners and alleys.  
  
By dusk she had made it to where she wanted to be, the offices of Angel Investigations. She walked on up to the door and slowly opening it, hoping that maybe they wouldn't be there. But hoping wasn't enough to stop what she knew would happen now.  
  
As soon as the door was open, a beautiful woman began talking to her. She looked like she belonged on the cover of 17 magazine, not working in a run down place like this.  
  
"Hi! Welcome to Angel Investigations. I am Cordelia and that is Doyle. If you are looking for Angel right now, he isn't here but you can wait for him, if you like."  
  
She seemed nice enough, Gretchen thought. And the guy sitting on the run- down couch isn't too bad.  
  
Doyle looked up at her and smiled.  
  
"Hey. Have a seat. Angel shouldn't be too long." Irish. Think, Irish accent that float on the breeze.  
  
She sat down hoping that the nice man from yesterday wouldn't be too long. Meeting too many new people at once was unnerving for her.  
  
It was already dark outside by the time Angel walked through the door. He was a sight for sore eyes. Not that the others weren't nice it was just that Gretchen thought that they were a bit weird, and they spent most of the time looking but trying not to look at each other.  
  
"Cordy, do I have any messages?" Angel asked.  
  
"No, but there is a girl here-" Cordelia started, just as a group of people came crashing through the window. Angel turned to look at her and smirked. It was weird. It was as if he knew exactly what was going to happen.  
  
Just as he turned around, the people's faces distorted and changed to become the faces of terrifying monsters.  
  
Gretchen leapt behind the front desk to hide. There was no way she was going to go anywhere near those.things.  
  
If she had only known.  
  
Suddenly, as if by magic, Angel's face did the same thing as the others. This scared Gretchen, that she had put all this faith in this stranger who turned out to be a monster. Almost as suddenly as Angel, Doyle's face changed but it was different. He had horns. And lots of them. Gretchen wasn't going to wait around to find out if the woman changed. None of them could be trusted and that was her final thought before running out into the night. If only she had waited to hear the words that had followed.  
  
"Wait come back. I want to help."  
  
She had never seen him again. If only she had waited she would have never walked into that alley. She would never be the thing she was today.  
  
  
  
Gretchen was brought back from her thoughts to hear the clang of a couple of quarters in her tin. She turned to see the giver, but she only saw a black leather jacket flying in the wind and brown hair of the stranger. But it couldn't be him. No, it wasn't. It couldn't. she looked down to see the card in the tin. The letters stared back at her, as if to say, 'I told you so'.  
  
"Angel Investigations." 


End file.
